Same Old Story: NBA Awards Snub
The 2018-19 season was an unexpected success for the Orlando Magic. Having ended the previous season with a disappointing 25-57 record in the second year under Head Coach Frank Vogel and his subsequent firing, feelings going into the new season were mixed. Yes, we had a new coach in Steve Clifford, but the fan base was pretty underwhelmed. He's a steady coach, but not the flashy guy with fresh ideas we were hoping for. He'll sort out the fundamentals of defensive awareness, rebounding and turnovers, but beyond that not much. His Charlotte teams were up and down, making two First Round exits in his six years as coach, but taking notable steps backwards along the way. While better than what Orlando can boast in the same time, not the long term vision of a consistently solid team.
So what happened? Orlando remained mediocre to the point of irrelevance right? No. No they didn't national media. Maybe it's time you take your eyes off of the nightly TNT, ESPN and ABC offerings for once and look at the local schedules.
Steve Clifford lead Orlando to a 42-40 record. That is a SEVENTEEN game improvement on the previous season. Which is the best in the entire league. The second closest team is Milwaukee with a sixteen game swing, under the play of probable MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks first year coach Mike Budenholzer did make the shortlist for Coach Of The Year, and rightly so. He was joined by Mike Malone and Doc Rivers. I'm not arguing that Clifford should win the award, but I think there is a legitimate case for him to be in the Top Three. Here are a few more numbers to back up his case:
Orlando jumped from 18th to 8th in defensive rating.
30th to 3rd in defensive rebounding.
We climbed from 14th to 7th in the Eastern standings.
Ending the season on a 22-9 run, which was the best in the entire league. That's a THIRTY ONE game stretch, approaching half a season.
BBL-Index projected us to go 32-50, while Bleacher Report had us pinned at 27-55 in the regular season. We out outperformed those predictions dramatically to land our first Playoff appearance since 2012.
These are incredibly strong numbers to back up legitimate gripe that Coach Clifford didn't make the shortlist. The March Eastern Coach of the Month Award was some recognition, but doesn't feel enough. The Orlando Magic have been going through some lean years, no question. It is surprising though that these improvements went unnoticed by the national media. Or perhaps it isn't. They seem to have their big market or superstar player blinkers on and don't have the ability to delve a little deeper. When the Magic are mentioned on a TNT or ABC broadcast, the usual 'It's the Magic though' or 'Orlando won't last' or some similar lazy takes come out and the conversation moves on. After about 20 seconds. Overlooked at every turn, which is further strengthened by the next rediculous snub.
Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon were a big part of the run to the Playoffs. This season their defensive skill sets became an important feature of the Magic's identity. We expected an upturn in the lock down nature of Orlando's play, but didn't envision this jump. A league low 10.9 Opponent 2nd Chance points, dominating the boards with the aggression of these two in particular. Gordon was tasked to defend the best player on the opposing team most nights finishing and averaged an impressive 105.1 defensive rating, while still boasting career high 3pt, assist and free throw percentages. Isaac, after an injury riddled rookie season, bounced back to become a dominant defensive force. His length and movement became a menace for teams to deal with, and he gave fans a glimpse of his ceiling. Despite being a critical part of a Top 10 defence in the NBA, neither Aaron Gordon or Jonathan Isaac got a single vote in the All NBA Defensive team. Not one. NOT A SINGLE VOTE. Isaiah Thomas (the 5'9” point guard version to avoid any confusion) even joked on Twitter how he got an All Defensive vote one year! WHAT!?
This is an Orlando Magic team that went on a defensive tear. 8th in the league for Defensive Rating. Robert Covington picked up 4 votes on a Minnesota Timberwolves team that finished 23rd in points allowed. Orlando finished 5th in the league. The snub of all Orlando players on the defensive team doesn't make sense. Although it's tough to see past Gobert and Embiid for the centre position, Vucevic did actually make more defensive rebounds per game than Gobert, sitting at 6th overall. But, apparently, none of this mattered when it came to casting votes. It seemed that the whole media missed the dominant play of our two defensive titans in Gordon and Isaac. The lack of any votes at all for these two is completely crazy.
That's all right? Well, no. There's one final snub.
Terrence Ross was absolutely electric off the bench this season. On so many occasions he would check into the game and score his first bucket within 10 seconds. He was almost automatic, particularly from beyond the arc. He hit an NBA record 217 threes without starting a single game. He was consistent and reliable at 38.3%. Ross was a major contributor to the Playoff push, with his offence becoming critical, especially with the down year from Fournier.
Despite his influence on a team that broke a seven year Playoff drought, he did not make the shortlist for Sixth Man of the Year. While Lou Williams is expected to win, the remaining two of Montrezl Harrell and Domantas Sabonis raise questions. Two LA Clippers up for Sixth Man seems strange right? Wouldn't one of them be seventh man? Each team has that sixth man player who steps up, so what's the point in adding the seventh in terms of the award? Then there is Sabonis. A solid year for the Pacers sure, but his numbers and team influence don't come close to Ross. Harrell's stats also struggle. Take a look:
Ross made 217 threes. Sabonis hit 9. Harrell just 3.
Ross was 87.5% from the line. Sabonis was 72.2%. Harrell made 64.3%
Ross started 0 games. Sabonis started 5. Harell also 5.
Ross committed 90 turnovers. Sabonis 160. Harrell 132.
Ross made 72 steals. Sabonis only 48. Harrell one less than Terrence at 71.
While Harrell averaged 16.6ppg and Ross 15.1, the fact that team mate Lou Williams is also in there weakens his one positive number. Sabonis averaged 14.1.
These regular season totals make it clear that Terrence was snubbed when it came to Sixth Man voting. Every Orlando fan knows the importance of Ross, which is why his Free Agency this summer is making a lot of us nervous.
So why have the media missed his stellar season, and that of the whole franchise? It comes down to the fact that the Magic remain overlooked. Is it lazy journalism? Is is favouritism? Is the fault of the networks giving Orlando ONE game all year across the Big Three? These all play a role in the long list of snubs this Award season. My take though is that I am pleased the league is still sleeping on Orlando. I think that the lack of recognition is great for the team because it will light a fire that will burn brighter than ever come October. Jonathan Isaac, although he didn't admit it, seemed to take his Rising Stars snub at the All Star break personally. He was fantastic in the final few months of the season and I think it was partly a result of not being selected. All these fresh snubs from the national media are going to have the same effect on the team. Gordon is pissed, his TV appearances and social media comments since these came out have shown that. This is exactly what we want. I'm pleased we got ignored by EVERYONE.
Thanks people, we'll book our tables for next years awards now.